Annulled
by Elyriah
Summary: Taliyah and Daidrin are the only residents of Dairsmuid Tower who escaped annulment, but that doesn't make them safe. Taliyah wants justice for her dead friends, the templars want Taliyah silenced, and Daidrin just wants to make sure no one learns Taliyah's secret... Set between DA II and Inquisition with original characters. New chapter every Monday.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Flashes of green and brown whipped past Taliyah as she ran through the forest. She knew Daidrin was somewhere behind her. She could hear his footsteps quietly keeping pace as she ran wildly through the trees. Her lungs burned and her legs threatened to fail her at every pounding step. That, she decided, was her plan then. She would run until she couldn't, and if the distance didn't help…

Taliyah's legs gave no final warning when they gave out a few steps later. The world crashed to a halt, blurred swirls of colors jolting back into familiar shapes – branch, grass, soil, shrub. She squeezed her blues eyes shut, letting them adjust behind the black of her eyelids.

"Glad you finally decided to stop," Daidrin joked in his low, relaxed voice. "I was almost about to break a sweat."

Taliyah could hear him rustle uncomfortably when she didn't respond. She didn't want to laugh, she didn't want to ease the tension in her head, or accept kind platitudes. She wanted to die – no, she wanted to erase herself from existence, she wanted to have never been born in the first place.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He pressed as he inched closer.

With sudden clarity, Taliyah knew that if she didn't respond, the dwarf would rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The idea was more than she could bear. Comfort would annihilate her; send her into a darkness she didn't want to visit yet. The protest in her muscles didn't stop her from quickly standing. She stood straight, just a few inches taller than Daidrin, as her body begged for rest. The pain made her feel a sense of accomplishment.

"No. I want to set up camp and then I want to talk about what we'll do next." The words spilled out just as Daidrin's fingers brushed her cloak. He pulled them back nonchalantly and nodded.

"Good idea. Might want to pick a spot with fewer trees though, otherwise we'll risk setting the place on fire."

The clearing Taliyah and Daidrin settled on was only a few yards south. It's packed-down earth and ashy smell gave it the appearance of a popular way-point for many travelers. The sun was only beginning to think about its descent into the horizon when the pair sat near their roaring fire.

"I was thinking we might head into Ferelden. I hear the Arl of Redcliff has a soft spot for mages," Daidrin began has he sliced open the throat of the ram they had caught. It would have been better to hang the carcass and drain the beast more thoroughly, he knew, but his concern was with Taliyah, who needed to finally eat something.

"No. We're going to Orlais." There was a note of defiant strength in Taliyah's voice, a tone that had been familiar until a week ago, when the world sucked the sparkle out of the girl.

"Taliyah…" Daidrin sighed heavily.

"I want to know why. I want to know who ordered it. I want to know…" The edge in her voice died as she trailed off.

"You want to know if it was you," Daidrin finished quietly.

"It had to be me," she whispered. "That's why they went to Seele. That's why they…" Tears threatened her eyelids. Daring to make her feel everything she fought to ignore.

"Maybe Rivella didn't get to your phylactery in time. They may think you're just another fleeing mage." Taliyah was difficult to console at the best of times, but Daidrin could see immediately that rather than having no effect, his words served to make her angry.

"Yes. That _must_ be it," she said harshly. "I'm just another mage. The Templars have no clue what I really am."

The dwarf waited patiently as Taliyah began to pace near the flames. He would have to let her deal with her emotions in her own way. He settled himself against a log they'd felled and lifted the bandage on his face. His eyes had been gone since before he met Taliyah five years ago, but the sockets would still itch now and then, tempting him to believe there was a bit of dust or errant eyelash floating about. He'd learned long ago that it was easier to play along and gently rub the empty sockets than to ignore the ghostly annoyance.

It wasn't until Daidrin had skinned the meat and propped it over the fire that Taliyah finally settled onto the log next to him. He could feel the restless energy still rolling off of her. Underneath though, he knew could her tiredness. Since the tower, she only slept when she absolutely had to, and even then just short, fitful naps.

"I can't go into hiding," she said after a few minutes had passed. "The Templars have my phylactery; they'll chase me down."

"They could just give up. Or, I've heard about mages bribing Templars." Daidrin knew her response even before she did. He didn't care that she would disagree, he just wanted to keep her talking, keep her grounded.

"They annulled the tower, Daid. They're not going to just give up or take some money to go away." She sounded almost reasonable again. Well, as close to reasonable as she ever was.

"Going to Orlais puts us at a disadvantage. That's their turf," he said.

"So then what do we do?" The frustration in her voice was back.

"The way I see it; we've got two goals." Daidrin stabbed a stubby finger upward. "First, get your phylactery from the Templars." Another finger shot up. "Second, find out what happened to Dairsmuid."

Taliyah considered Daidrin's assessment as he sniffed the air. The fire cracked wildly as he removed the meat. The smell of charred ram suddenly swirled around them, filling at Taliyah's nostrils and reminding her of the hunger she's been ignoring.

"So what? We attack every Templar we see?" She was excited at the prospect of striking back, of hurting the Templars and their families.

"Perhaps. Or we let them come to us," he replied. He continued before she could argue. "If there's a Templar with your phylactery, they'll catch up to us sooner or later. All we have to do is wait."

She nodded, taking a cautious bite from the meat Daidrin handed her. It was without seasoning, but still delicious.

"Any stranger we see, we approach cautiously. We don't attack until we're sure and we take our time if someone approaches us," he said as he chewed his meat. "We can't afford to walk into a trap."

Taliyah had never been the cautious type. She never thought out her actions, never considered consequences. In the five years since Daidrin had come to Dairsmuid Tower to train her, it was the one area in which she had made no progress. So when she signaled her agreement, he knew it wouldn't stick. He considered pressing the point further, making her understand that her life was at stake, but he knew from experience talking sense to Taliyah was like praying to the ancestors: It might make him feel better for a moment, but nothing would truly change.

"We'll let the Templars find us, but we keep heading toward Orlais," Taliyah said. The food had already done her some good. Her voice was calmer, with the slight tone of apprehension. If she would just get some sleep, Daidrin knew she'd start to feel like herself again.

"We'll have to let them catch us somewhere between here and the far border of Antiva – getting cornered in Nevarra would be just as bad as Orlais."

Taliyah said nothing in return. Instead, she stood and stretched. The folds of her cloak rustling in the dirt. Daidrin was surprised she hadn't discarded the garment when she'd abandoned her staff; he knew she wore her leathers underneath. Maybe the cloak offered a sort of protection that had nothing to do with the outside world.

"It's getting late," she said. "Get some sleep, Daid. I'll take first watch."

"Taliyah, you've taken 'first watch' every night since…and you've let me sleep through the night every time. _You_ need sleep, not me."

The length of Taliyah's sigh told Daidrin that she was about to launch into her speech about things he wouldn't understand. He'd told her before that he knew about death and heartache, but she shrugged him off, muttering about dwarves not knowing how bad it could be. Daidrin had let the insult go. He knew humans could be dramatic.

"Have you ever had a memory stuck in your head? The kind that plays over and over and if you don't find something to distract you, you'll go mad?"

Daidrin stilled at her quiet words. He knew the feeling better than he wanted to admit. The two of them had never discussed the past beyond the surface. He knew that Taliyah had been more or less a prisoner in the tower for two years before they met, and that his presence in the tower was a compromise to get her to stop running away. Meanwhile, Taliyah knew only that Daidrin was from Orzammar, that he'd left everything – including his eyes – in the underground city and that he and Rivella were friends.

The heat from the campfire suddenly felt warmer as he considered his options. He could simply say yes, and let her continue. He could say no and observe her reaction. What he wanted to do though, was tell her the whole story. The injustice, the pain, the horror. He wanted to make her see that she wasn't alone. He opened his mouth to let the tale pour out of him when he realized the selfishness of it. This was about Taliyah and her grief, he wouldn't take that from her.

"Yes, I know the kind."

"Imagine that you're trapped in that memory. Watching it over and over, and you can't look away or distract yourself. All you can do is wait for it to stop on its own."

So this, Daidrin thought, was the fabled 'dreaming'. "What memory do you relive?"

"My father." Two words, but so much pain behind them.

"We weren't there for that," he said tonelessly.

"No, but I can imagine what it was like. I'm afraid, if I sleep, I'll see it over and over."

The fire popped loudly as Daidrin clenched and unclenched his fists. He would never admit it, but while Taliyah wanted so badly to find the person who ordered the Rite of Annullment on Dairsmuid, Daidrin wanted to see the entire Chantry burn for what it had done to her. It had made her lie. It had made her hide and cower and live a miserable half-life. Then it burned down her home, took her father and hunted her. He wanted to single-handedly slit the throat of every Chantry member, from the Revered Mother to the lowliest initiate. After a moment, he mastered himself and mock yawned.

"You're right, I'm too tired for first watch. I can barely keep my eyes open." The titter of giggles that escaped Taliyah's lips was more than enough to sooth Daidrin's rage as he laid on the ground. She loved it when he told eye jokes.

The snapping twig was hardly a sound at all, yet Taliyah's eyes opened wide at the sound. She cursed herself when she realized she'd fallen asleep, then stood and quickly completed the exercise Rivella had taught her to get rid of the double-vision. A vibration shook the earth just as Taliyah's world became a single, solid place. Quietly she slipped forward, but halted near her sleeping companion. He would want her to wake him, she knew. She wrestled against herself for a moment more before kneeling next to the dwarf. She wanted to handle this herself, but she also wanted Daidrin to see her handle it.

"Someone's coming," she whispered. "I'm going to slip behind him, you stay here." She didn't wait to see if Daidrin had heard her.

Either the person wandering dangerously close to their camp was a blundering idiot, or they wanted to be caught. Even Taliyah, who had the tracking skills of a senseless child – or so she'd been told – had no trouble following the noise and slipping behind the intruder. She crouched low, trying to get a glimpse of her quarry, but the dense treetops hid what little moonlight shown through the night's cloud cover.

It wasn't much longer before the man – Taliyah decided that the heavy, flat footfalls indicated a male – came to their camp. Oddly, he simply stood, as though waiting for something to happen. Taliyah cocked her head to the side and listened hard. But no, she heard no allies coming, only a smattering of animals enjoying the nightlife. This then, was her moment.

With a confidence laced with bravado, Taliyah darted toward the intruder. She crouched low and, just before she collided with him, struck the backs of his knees hard with her shin. The ground shook as he fell on hands and knees. Taliyah yanked on his hair with her right hand before he could regain balance and pulled him toward her. She held him close, her left hand – and the dagger it held – rested at his throat. She took a deep breath before saying the line she'd been practicing for years.

"Stay on your knees or we'll test my dagger's sharpness on your neck!"

The intruder still immediately, giving Taliyah a moment to take him in. He was not human as Taliyah first imagined, but Qunari. His horns protruded from his forehead, rose six inches and then curved toward the crown of his head. His long white hair fell around his bare chest and shoulders. Even on his knees, he came up to Taliyah's chin. His many muscles rippled in frustration as the girl barely half his height held him at bay.

"How long shall we stay like this?" His voice was deep and full of bored sarcasm.

A confused "What?" escaped Taliyah's lips before she had time to think.

"You're the one with the blade, shouldn't you ask me what I'm doing here or something?" The Qunari drew his words into one long, deep sigh.

Taliyah's excitement at having caught the Qunari was suddenly eclipsed by fear. She was in over her head, and if Daidrin wasn't awake, or if he'd died in his sleep or just become tired of her... She forced herself to take a breath and mask her words with a courage she didn't quite feel.

"Why have you come to my camp in the middle of the night?" She jabbed her dagger into his neck a little, for good measure.

"Ow! Must you press so hard?"

"It was for emphasis." She slowed her voice, allow her thick Rivaini accent to drag each word along. She jabbed again. "Well?"

"Quit poking me!" His body shuddered with annoyance. "I figured you'd be easy marks. Tie you down, steal your supplies and be on my way."

"Your plan has gone awry," she said triumphantly. Taliyah's mind raced as she considered how she might end this. She needed to somehow prove she was too much of a threat so he would walk away and leave them alone. She didn't know how. In all the times Daidrin had trained her for larger opponents, she had never taken it seriously. She never imagined a time when someone bigger than her might actually pose a threat. She knew there were more steps, ways she could secure or incapacitate him, but she couldn't recall any of the things Daid had said. Come to think of it, she wondered, where was Daid? Why hadn't he sprung to action?

The air raced from her lungs as she hit the ground. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, the smell of soil filled her nostrils as her chest fought to find a rhythm once again. The Qunari was suddenly above her, a knee on her back and her wrists clutched tightly in one giant fist.

"You stand like a novice," he said harshly. "Makes it easy to put you on the ground instead - obviously. Like I said, easy mark."

Panic clawed at Taliayh's throat, threatening a scream. She had allowed herself to lose her advantage, and now she was pinned. Helpless. At the mercy of someone else, as usual. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the weight on her back was gone. She rolled to her side and looked toward the Qunari. He was on the ground again, with Daidrin calmly holding him in place. The Qunari caught Taliyah's eye with his left one and grinned unexpectedly.

"Your dwarf's much better at this. He's harder to knock over in the crouched position and his grip on my arm is tight, but not locked," he said approvingly. "The fingers on my eye are a nice touch."

"Keeps you from getting any ideas." Daidrin twitched the middle finger that rested on the Qunari's closed right eye.

Relief washed over Taliyah. Of course Daidrin hadn't left her. Of course he wasn't dead or bored. He was loyal. He would stay with her until she was gone. She chided herself for even thinking that he'd ever abandon her. She had an urge to confess her fears and to apologize for doubting him. But no, they still had the Qunari to deal with.

"Thanks, Daid," she said as she righted herself.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, he just…" Taliyah felt her cheeks redden. He just beat her fairly because she was an amateur. She glared down at the massive man on the ground. "My stance was off because I was surprised anyone would be dumb enough to approach us…Let him up, he's not a match for us."

"Not a match for _him,_ maybe," The Qunari's blue-gray skin rippled as he laughed heartily. He turned to face Daidrin and found himself suddenly stunned. "Wait – Dwarf – are you _blind?_ I was taken down by a _blind dwarf?_ "

"Vision isn't everything," Daidrin said mildly. He had never much cared how other's reacted to his blindness, but Taliyah often found herself angrily attacking anyone who so much as mentioned the faded green cloth he wore to cover the sockets.

"Enough. You have two choices: Either walk away now or let Daidrin put you down for good," Taliyah said a little too loudly.

The Qunari's expression became quickly crestfallen. Gathering his full height, he slowly turned, and walked toward the trees. "Have a splendid day."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It wasn't uncommon for Daidrin and Taliyah to go hours without speaking a word. Indeed, it was only with Daidrin that Taliyah seemed comfortable enough to allow silence into the space. Rivella had teased Daidrin that it was his calming effect on others. Daidrin; however, suspected it was more likely hero-worship that made her tongue still. The silence today was different, though.

The sun was nearing its pinnacle now, but Taliyah hadn't uttered a word since before it rose. The two had packed the camp hastily and headed south. After their meeting with the Qunari, Daidrin had wanted to put a bit of distance between them and Kont-aar. Taliyah had accepted this suggestion with a nod before stamping out the fire and gathering her pack. Daidrin had expected at least a token argument, but there was nothing. This silence, he realized, was darker than the others. It was the type that carried heavy thoughts and heavy hearts.

The trees had thinned considerably by the time he tried to coax Taliyah from her shell. The sun beat down on them, proudly flaunting its heat on this unusually cloudless day. A light breeze tickled at them, bringing smells that hinted at what lie ahead: ashes from a campfire, spiced meats, and horses. Daidrin's brow furrowed as he considered the assortment. It meant they would likely encounter more people, possibly Templars. Which meant he had to break Taliyah out of her mental prison.

"Want to talk about?"

"No. Yes. No. I will say it badly," she stammered.

"We'll fix it as we go."

Moments stretched by before Taliyah responded.

"Last night, with the Qunari. I thought you left me," she said the words as a long string of syllables, without breaks or pauses. She took a gulp of air and explained more slowly. "I couldn't remember what to do after I captured the Qunari. I froze and then I was sure that you weren't there. That you'd gotten tired of me and just, took off."

Daidrin's body language betrayed nothing as they continued their journey through the forest. He wanted to let her get it all out before he said a word. It wasn't much of a pause before she continued.

"It wasn't fair of me. They were disgusting, terrible, mean thoughts. I know you'd never leave me…"

The pleading tone in the final statement of Taliyah's confession broke Daidrin's heart. She was begging for reassurance, and Taliyah begged – truly begged – for nothing. He added it to the list of things he'd make the Chantry pay for.

He stopped abruptly and grabbed her left wrist at the same time. He gave her a moment to adjust before spinning her toward him.

"Taliyah, I'm only going to say this once: I'm not going anywhere. I will be at your side until you tell me to leave."

He fought to keep the anger out of his voice. They had reduced her to this fragile shell. They had – no – it wasn't fair to put it all on them. Rivella, her father, even Daidrin himself had spent years telling her to be afraid. She had been warned again and again that telling anyone her secret was dangerous not just for herself, but anyone near her. In the span of a week, she went from being beloved by many to have only Daidrin to lean on.

"I haven't seen any of them," she whispered. "I thought they'd come."

The crack in her voice was more than Daidrin could take. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling hot tears fall from her eyes and land on his cheek. Almost immediately the silent tears became sobs of grief. He stroked her mahogany hair as her shoulders shook. When she slid to the ground, still wracked with grief, he held her copper-colored hand in his calloused one. Slowly her tears subsided and she spoke in a voice that was clear and just a little vibrant around the edges.

"Thank you." She stood as soon as the words at left her lips, and resumed her quick pace.

It was late afternoon when Taliyah spotted a figure in the distance. They were in a field overgrown with shrubbery. Waist-high plants lazed about them as she squinted at what seemed to be a kneeling person. Daidrin had eased their pace a bit, but seemed otherwise unperturbed by another person. Taliyah, on the other hand, couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity as she watched the nearly immobile form. When it finally struck her, the air whisked from her lungs.

"Daid, it's a mage."

"What?"

"It's a mage. They're wearing a robe – that's a staff in their right hand," she said in a breathy, high-pitched voice. "They have to be from Dairsmuid!"

She was suddenly running, shouting at the person before her. Questions raced through her mind – who were they? How did they escape? Was it someone she knew well? Taliyah could hear Daidrin calling for her to slow down, but she didn't care. It was someone from the tower. She managed to keep herself from shouting out until she was a few yards away. She still didn't recognize the woman from behind, but it didn't matter. Someone had _survived._

"Hey! Are you ok? You're from Dairsmuid, right? How did you survive? Are you injured?" Taliyah was close enough to touch the emerald robes that clothed the woman when she realized something was wrong. The woman hadn't acknowledged her, hadn't turned and cried out joyously at seeing someone else from the tower. She just stood there.

It had never occurred to Taliyah that anyone other than herself would ever pretend to be a mage. She had assumed everyone else was always exactly what they appeared to be and that only she donned a disguise. When the other woman's fingers shot out of the robe and wrapped around her wrist, Taliyah knew she was deeply mistaken. Suddenly Taliyah was on the ground, a well-made leather boot pressing down on her chest.

"You're stupid, even for a mage. I throw on a robe and you think I'm one of you," the other woman said in a rich Antivan accent. She held a dagger lazily in one hand while the other rested on her hip. She smirked triumphantly at Taliyah. "Stay where you are, or her death will be slow and painful."

It took Taliyah a moment to realize that the woman was speaking not her, but to Daidrin, who had tried unsuccessfully to sneak behind the attacker. "Please, you are mistaken. I'm not a mage – I don't even have a staff."

"A poor decision on your part," the woman cooed. With a decisive moment, she lifted her foot from Taliyah's chest and rested in on the ground. "Prove it."

"I…what?" Taliyah stared up at the other woman.

"You're wearing daggers. You say you're not a mage. Prove it. Get up and fight me." Without warning, she whipped around to Daidrin, who had slowly inched his was forward a few feet. "I see you need a distraction."

Four others suddenly appeared as if from nowhere. _A potion,_ Tailyah thought as she slowly rose to her feet, _I should've paid attention instead of running in._ There were no battle cries, no polite bows or formal beginnings. Blades clanged on all sides. The Antivan woman was ferociously pressing Tailyah with her blades, while the smaller woman frantically rebuffed the attacks, never making any of her own. Soon, a pattern formed: Swipe, swipe, block, block, check on Daidrin, swipe, swipe, block, block, check on Daidrin.

The dwarf was deftly holding back the four opponents. He had gained some ground, but the dance-like movements of the four made it a difficult for him to keep it. They were obviously at least as well trained as Daidrin and had the advantage in numbers.

"Let's get rid of your distraction."

Taliyah's focus snapped back just in time to see a dagger fly from the woman's left hand and soar gracefully toward Daidrin's right bicep, where it planted itself. Her friend fell to the ground the moment the dagger found his flesh. He didn't move.

"DAIDRIN!" Taliyah's world spun. She couldn't think in words, instead feeling only flashes of emotion colored by raw panic. The desperation pulsing its way through her body propelled her forward. The woman stepped between her and Daidrin's body.

"He can't help you." The musical quality in the woman's voice made her sound vicious.

Moments passed before Taliyah understood what the words meant. Slowly, she nodded. She would fight and one of them would die. The Antivan was toying with her and would continue to do so until she got bored. She had stupidly walked into a trap and had only on option.

"Five to one doesn't seem very fair." Taliyah recognized the casual voice instantly. The Qunari from the night before had either followed them or stumbled up on the scene. He strolled toward the frozen battle, an axe in hand.

"Leave, Qunari. This doesn't concern." The Antivan's tone was acid.

"Sure it does," he said as he moved a few steps forward. "I'm a big believer in fairness. Tell you what – the five of you against me and the mage. I promise I won't even throw my axe."

"I'm not a mage," Taliyah muttered. The Qunari's barking laughter added an unsettling element to the battlefield. His shoulders rippled with the sound as tears began to slid down his face.

"You and your friend are about to die, and you're upset that I called you a _mage_." The laughter stopped as he shook his head. Everything became deadly serious once more. "As I was saying. You five against us two. What do you say?"

Rage did not suit the Antivan woman. It morphed her delicate features until she looked as demonic as the Qunari who had interrupted her easy victory. It rolled off her skin, causing her men to shuffle uncomfortably. When she spoke, it gave her voice a cool edge.

"You have bought her another day. We'll leave you for now." At her words, her men stepped away from Daidrin and followed her west.

Taliyah barely managed to wait until the band of would-be murderers were out of earshot before scrambling to where Daidrin still lay.

"Daidrin. Daidrin! Please, please don't be dead."

"He took a blade to the shoulder. He'll live." The Qunari stood over Taliyah's shoulder, the annoyed expression on his face matching his tone. "See the runes on the dagger? He's probably paralyzed."

"Then help me dress the wound," she screeched helplessly.

"You're a mage – just heal him."

"I'm not a mage! And if I was, my specialty wouldn't be healing, so I'd need a staff for that – which I don't have because I'm not a mage!" She was becoming hysterical; she could feel reason unraveling around her. One by one, the dead mages from Dairsmuid tower paraded behind her eyes. At the end, just behind her father, Daidrin's form was taking shape.

The Qunari knocked her aside without a words and looked at Daidrin's arm. Without looking away, he caught the hem of Taliyah's robe and tore a long stip. With sure movements, she wrested the dagger from Daidrin's arm and wrapped the cloth tightly in its place.

With the runed dagger gone, Daidrin stood immediately and went to Tailyah. They quietly consoled each other for a few minutes, neither remembering the Qunari's presence until he shuffled impatiently.

"Thank you," Daidrin said, still sitting with Taliyah in the yellowing grass. "You saved our lives, uh, friend."

He accepted the words with a nod. "I am called Arvaarad. From Kont-aar."

"I'm sorry for your loss," the shorter man said as he rose to his feet. "You were the traveler?"

Arvaarad nodded his head. Allowing Qunari mages into the tower had been something of a pet project for Rivella. It had started, so the story went, soon after the woman became Dairsmuid Tower's first enchanter. She had visited Kont-aar and saw the treatment of mages there. It had taken her months to convince the settlement to allow their mages to find a life within the tower walls. Soon though, the relationship had become a strong one. Eight Qunari mages trained in the tower. Two Arvaarad were stationed there to ensure against abuse, and a third traveled between the tower and the settlement, giving reports and bringing any new mages to the tower.

"Itwasaam," Taliyah said solemnly.

Again, Arvaarad's rumbling laughter filled the air. "Oh! Your pronunciation is terrible."

"It can't be much worse than your Common," she shot back.

"Point taken," he said, sobering.

"We should talk while we're moving. Sitting here only invites more trouble," Daidrin cut in. Taliyah looked at him aghast.

"We can't take him with us. He tried to kill us last night," she argued.

"If I had tried to kill you, Venak Hol, you would be dead."

Daidrin raised a had to silence the two. He flinched only slightly as the movement irritated his wound. He would have to remember to move more carefully for a few days.

The trio walked in silence for a ways. Taking in the overgrown fields and quiet landscape of inner Rivain. The coastline was where everyone lived. Everyone in Rivain lived near the coastline, usually in one of the four port cities or on the island Llomerynn. Piracy and trade were the life's blood of the people there. The rest of the land had been mostly abandoned to the animals, the random hermit and other settlers who hadn't learned enough about the peninsula to know better.

"She raises a fair point," Daidrin said without breaking his pace. "Why did you really come to our camp?"

For a moment, Arvaarad looked bashful. He raised his left hand and scratched the patch of skin behind his horns. He looked around for a moment, then settled his arms across his chest. Finally, he responded to the question.

"I saw you at the tower. You went inside, came out, you-," he said, his eyes trained on Taliyah. "I've been following you ever since."

Bile rose in Taliyah's throat. He didn't have to say anymore; she knew the details. He had seen her enter the tower and come back out moments later. He'd watched as she vomited and sobbed. Witnessed her throwing her staff, breaking it in two, and screaming hysterically. He was there somewhere as she and Daidrin traveled for days to her village. In the distance, he would have surveyed the scene at her father's house. The way Taliyah held his mangled body, how Daidrin dragged her from the scene, and ultimately, watched her run away, into the forest, careening through the wilderness until her legs gave out.

"Why come to our camp last night?" she whispered.

"I got to close while I was patrolling the area. I figured you'd heard me, so I thought I'd survey up close," he said.

"And?" she pressed.

"And I didn't lie to you then. You're a novice. How long have you been practicing?"

"Five years," she said sulkily.

Daidrin's best guess was that the three were making camp in almost the direct center of Rivain's central landmass. Had he a map, he'd have pointed to where the cartographer carefully scrawled "RIVAIN", and rested his finger in the space within the V as their current location. It was a nice place to rest, too. Small game ran about freely and the breeze in the air gently tickled their cheeks. The ground was soft, and dry. The flat lands offered little protection in a fight, but there also lacked cover for those who might try a covert attack. The only thing it was truly missing was a small stream or pond, but that didn't bother Daidrin much – it wasn't a necessity for only an overnight stay.

It wasn't long before Daidrin's modest campfire was roasting the meats Arvaarad had captured. The three sat around it in an awkward triangle – Daidrin and Taliyah too close and Arvaarad too far. It was an uncomfortable silence interrupted only by crackling logs and sizzling meat.

"I think it's time you tell us why you decided to follow us," Daidrin said across the fire. He leaned back on his hands in what was meant to look like a relaxed position, yet the he could still feel the cool metal of his dagger resting against his forearm.

"Ten Qunari died in the Annulment," he began. "I had planned to follow you until the Templars with your phylactery showed up, then I'd follow them to the source of the order."

"Why?" Taliyah blurted.

"Because ten Qunari are dead," Arvaarad repeated. "Qunari mages are always disciplined by Arvaarad. That's always been the agreement."

"The Chantry – through the Templars – has final say over mages." Taliyah countered with a shake of her head.

"That doesn't matter. Dairsmuid's first enchanter and knight-commander agreed to that term when we first allowed our mages in the tower. And they did so as _agents_ of the Chantry." Arvaarad's voice was infused with fury. Daidrin wondered how many of those mages were deposited to the tower by the man before him. The anger left Arvaarad's voice as he spoke again. "I heard you say you wanted to make them pay too. What do you say? We'd make an excellent team, and it's obvious that you need me."

It was Taliyah's turn to laugh, a rich, delighted sound that Daidrin hadn't heard in a long time. "You want to join us? What in the world makes you think we need you?" she giggled.

"Because you are too distraught to make good decisions," Arvaarad said, ignoring her laughter. "And he's too worried about you to make the right calls either. I, on the other hand, don't care about either of you. I'm the balance you _need_."

"No, you're not. You'll only slow us down," she said angrily. "Your guilt is not your problem."

"Venak Hol, that woman you were fighting earlier – the battle where I saved your life, I mean – she's a Crow. Why the Templar's hired Crows to find you, I can only guess, but it means you need me as much as I need you."

Daidrin could hear Taliyah's jaw working as she thought furiously for a response. He cleared his throat and spoke before Taliyah made their dire situation worse. "He's right. We need him."

"What? Daid – No!"

"That was a Crow back there, I knew it right away. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to worry you. That alone proves that we need someone else with us."

"If they hired Crows to find me…" Taliyah gave a heavy sigh and Daidrin's heart broke. This probably meant that everyone at the tower died because of her, and he couldn't shield her from that.

"I have a theory," Arvaarad broke in. "There have been rumors for years about someone pretending to be a mage at Dairsmuid Tower. That's you, isn't it?"

The look of horror that crept over Taliyah's face was all the answer he needed.

"What exactly are these rumors?" Daidrin asked. He'd spend so much time tracking down and silencing anyone who seemed to be suspicious of the girl. Maybe he could convince Taliyah that the blame lay with him, not her.

"Oh, there are tons," the Qunari said casually. "Most of them say she's somebody's secret lovechild – Rivella's, the Hero of Ferelden's, even Empress Celene's.

Daidrin couldn't help smiling at Taliyah's gleeful shout. No Templar, no matter how greedy, would risk annulling a tower for bribe money. Maybe she was an additional bonus, but she certainly wasn't the cause. It helped too that the rumors were so far off the mark.

"Taliyah, I know you're not going to like it, but I think we should let Arvaarad join us," Daidrin said as he braced for what was sure to be a colorful response.

"No. Absolutely not! **"** She rounded on him. **"** No matter what he says, he still attacked us! We can't trust him."

"I'm sitting right here, you know," Arvaarad bristled.

"If you want to find the people who killed your dad, we're going to need allies – and we can't afford to be choosey," Daidrin said diplomatically.

"We have plenty of time to find allies, it doesn't have to be _him_."

"You don't have time," Arvaarad said loudly. "There are Crows after you. You're going to need all the help you can get to make it through Antiva alive."

"Please. The Crows will stop once they see the Templars are in the wrong," Taliyah snorted.

"You don't know much about the Crows, do you?" He gave Taliyah a serious look. "Let's say that the Crows would back off if they knew you were in the right. What exactly is your claim? How do you prove that you _are_ in the right?"

It occurred to Daidrin suddenly that this was the liveliest he'd seen Taliyah in some time, since even before the annulment. That the Qunari could draw out of her such energy further convinced the dwarf that he needed to stay with them.

"The Chantry _murdered_ an entire tower full of people! And not just mages! They killed the knight-commander! Templars!" Taliyah cried as she jumped to her feet.

"And that's the right of the Chantry. Antiva is an Andrastan nation, you think they'll stand against the Chantry on the word of an apostate mage, and a dwarf?" Arvaarad held his reasonable tone, which served to further annoy Tailyah.

"They cannot just – _people_ are _dead._ "

"Ah. Rebellious mages and their supporters are dead."

"We did not rebel!"

"No? Your tower didn't welcome possession? Weren't you "on leave" from the tower? All of that is prohibited by the Chantry."

Taliyah sputtered angrily for a moment before Arvaarad continued in a gentle voice.

"Those things are a way of life in Rivain, but it's not like that at any other tower." He chuckled lightly. "At any other tower, Qunari mages would have been treated with even less mercy than elves. That tower was good and I'm angry that the Chantry did this too, but it would be _childish_ to believe anyone else would agree."

"He's right, Taliyah. We need help," Daidrin said with a ring of finality.

"Clearly, my opinion doesn't matter here," Taliyah said bitterly. She sat down heavily and stared into the flames of the campfire, pointedly ignoring her companions.

Daidrin smiled. Taliyah's sulks were often monumental, but it was a good sign that she was having one. He turned to the fire himself, happy for its warmth in the cool Harvestmere air.

"Tell me, how is it that you fight so well without eyes?" So Arvaarad had the wit not to revel in his win. Daidrin was liking him more and more.

"I can feel movement all around me. You, as you breathe, a leaf falling to the ground. I don't need eyes so much when I can see with my body."

"I see. I'm curious about how you lost your eyes," he said.

Daidrin was unsurprised by the solicitous tone. It was a question everyone asked, eventually. Yet he'd never shared the story with anyone. Even now, almost a decade later, it was hard to even think about. "Taliyah's been curious for five years."


End file.
